The bad news for Pfizer was that Ranbaxy has successfully invalidated all claims sought in defense of Pfizer’s Austrian patent covering atorvastatin calcium, the active ingredient in the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor (sold as Sortis in Austria).
Pfizer said that it will appeal the Austrian Patent Office’s decision and is confident that it will, on appeal, be able to make a compelling argument in support of the patent. The patent will remain in force during the appeals process, which is expected to take about a year.
The more positive news for Pfizer came in the form of being awarded a preliminary injunction halting sales of a generic quinapril product marketed by Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc, Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals, and Ranbaxy Laboratories. The ruling requires Teva and Ranbaxy to immediately withdraw the product, which contains the active ingredient in Pfizer’s antihypertensive Accupril, in the US.
The court held that Pfizer was likely to prevail in its patent infringement suit filed on January 28, 2005 against Teva and Ranbaxy, and ordered the preliminary injunction to prevent further sales of the Teva-marketed product while Pfizer seeks a permanent injunction. The judge has also denied Ranbaxy’s and Teva’s request to stay the injunction.
As a result of the ruling, Pfizer will seek damages resulting from lost sales.